Rain, Rain, Rain, HOT, Rain, Rain, Rain

Rain, Rain, Rain, HOT, Rain, Rain, Rain

Folks, it’s been wet. And dark. And cold. And that can be a problem when you are in the business of making plants grow. We are only slightly behind in our planting schedules, but we are going to be behind in our harvest times going into summer. Crop plants simply do not grow without warm soil and sunlight. We are planning on starting our CSA pick-ups on time this year (this week!) but our shares may be a bit light in June and there is a possibility of postponing a week if the weather does not improve. This is something all farmers are going through in the Northeast this spring. We are confident that we will have a large assortment of produce for your shares this year, it may just take some extra time to get them to you.

However, we do have some very nice plants growing in our greenhouses right now and we should be able to collect a fair assortment of spring greens and young root crops this month. For the first pick-up we have some excellent looking rabe and kale, radishes, scallions, spinach, head lettuce, and bok choi for you as well as a variety of potted herbs to choose from. Our peas haven’t begun to flower yet but we are trellising them as they slowly irk their way towards the clouds. Even though the fields are muddy many of our crops are looking content, just waiting for some photosynthetic stimuli. Potatoes, Summer Squash, Beets, Carrots, Broccoli, Cabbages, Tomatoes, and Cucumbers (and many others) are all in the wings trying to shake off this cold spring weather.

Good news is that we have electricity at our new farm and just last Friday during the last rain storm (until tomorrow of course) we had a concrete pad poured in our barn! We took advantage of that one hot weekend and got our water lines installed as well. So we are setting up our wash station which has been furbished by our extremely generous CSA members who have made a donation to our transition period. Thank You to those who gave extra this year to help us make the leap from Urban Edge Farm to Snake Hill Farm. Through your gift we have been able to purchase : pex piping and hardware for our washroom plumbing, wash tubs, irrigation lay flat, produce carts, and lots of bolts, screws, clamps, bits and what-not to put it all together.

So the agricultural venture is always at the mercy of the elements. However, through our work in remediating the soil, improving and introducing soil biology, we are hopeful that we will pull out of the storm of May into the safe harbor of June. Here’s to an excellent CSA season and a bountiful summer. See you all on Thursday for the first CSA pick-up!